When the Birthday Rolls Around
by B.U.G.I.M.S
Summary: Naruto wakes into another birthday, and the villagers are decidedly mean. Nothing seems to be going right for the young ninja. Warning: slight SasuNaru or NaruSasu in later chapters
1. Waking world

The morning light spilled into the sparsely decorated room of one Uzumaki Naruto. The light glinted off the polished surface of a small night stand that was set beside the twin sized bed that the young boy was currently sprawled across. The light blue sheets were shoved down to the foot of the bed at some time during the night and were teetering on the edge; not knowing whether to fall off or stay in place.  
Half-heartedly, Naruto threw his arm across his face in a weak attempt to block out the sun's rays. This was the one day a year that he absolutely loathed, and he was in no mood to deal with his team mates. His birthday. Consequently, also the day that the Kyuubi had been sealed, so the cold glares that usually dogged his footsteps would be increased appropriately.  
Deciding that he had better haul some keister some time before nine o'clock, Naruto sat up slowly, stretching his arms over his head and giving a half decent impression of a cat. He threw his boxer clad legs over the side of his bed, and gave a startled yelp when a shock ran up his legs telling his brain that the floor was COLD.  
As he rose from his sitting position, he glanced at the scene outside his winodw. It was no wonder his floor had been freezing, it was the middle of fall, and Konoha was known to be visited by old Jack Frost earlier than most other cities in the fire country.  
Naruto was instantly hypnotized by the fluttering movements of the multicoloured leaves dancing from the trees that stood next to his apartment.  
Shaking his head, Naruto broke the trance and stepped lightly accross the floor towards his small bathroom to freshen up a bit before treating himself to some tempura.  
Contrary to what he led others to believe, he was not all that fond of ramen. He ate it mostly because it was all that he could afford on his gennin budget. The reason he always asked for the Ichiraku when Iruka asked him what he wanted for dinner, was because he knew that the Chunin did not have all that much in the funds department himelf, and Naruto didn't want to feel that he was milking his favourite teacher, just because he wanted some variety.  
After brushing his teeth thouroughly, he made a beeline for the small dresser that was one of the few furnishings in his entire house. He began to rummage through it to find his orange jumpsuit, the only thing he could wear and not have to worry about ruining; he wasn't all that fond of the suit either, it was just another thing he had found to be easier to purchase than some of the other, more expensive items of clothing. Whenever Naruto neared one of the booths with anything other than bottom price clothes, he was greeted with sneers and a few cold glares thrown in for good measure.  
Sighing, he shrugged on his blue t shirt and orange cargo pants, slinging his jacket over his arm. His feet had become used to the chill of the floor, and were not so sensitive to the lowered temperature as they had been.  
When Naruto passed from his room into the kitchen, the calendar that he himself had made, seeing as the knick knack shop was another no-no for the fox vessel, grabbed his attention. Throughout his entire morning ritual he had been able to forget the date, but the glaring red numbers reminded him all too well.  
Making his way slowly over to the birch cupboards, he extracted a small glass bowl with fish designs around the edge, and placed it gently on the kitchen table. Turning back, he opened one of the slim drawers and took out a small cast iron kettle and a packet of instant ramen. He'd save the tempura for dinner that night.  
After he had filled the kettle with luke warm water and placed it on the stove he had affectionately dubbed "flame", he set to work on finishing the sketch of a fox that he had begun to draw on the cabinets. The fox was long and sleek, the main body taking up three consecutive cupboards, leaving a cupboard or two on either side for the head and tails.  
The sound of steam whistling borught him to attention, and he placed his pencils back in the appropriate box on the counter next to the miniature fridge in the corner of the kitchen. He rushed to find an oven mitt, and came up with the dolphin one that Iruka had given him a few months prior, after learning that the boy was without one. Grasping the warm handle, he hoisted the kettle off, and poured the water and ramen ingredients into the bowl.  
As he ate, he felt that he would indeed go out ad train with his team mates. Warm food in his belly made him feel much better, though he was fully aware of how the day would go. He was definitely not looking forward to it.  
Dumping his used bowl and chopsticks into the wash basin he used as a sink, he pulled on his sandals, and wrapped his jacket tightly about him, zippering it up so far that it covered his nose.  
As soon as he exited his apartment, he was greeted by the chilly air of the village, but a small gust of warm air quickly dispelled all traces of the frost that had begun to form on both the windows and his clothes. Although winter came quickly to Konoha, it was mostly the nights that were frost bitten, the days enjoying an abundance of sunshine and warm breezes that came from the south.  
As he trotted cheerily down the streets towards the bridge where his team usually met, the response of the villagers was not as he had expected. In fact, it was worse. Instead of the glares and sneers he would usually have received, he was greeted by whispers and murderous looks. Of course, the cold glares required to make the hatred completely known were firmly in place as well.  
Feeling his smile slipping, Naruto quickly streched his cheeks as wide as he could with his facial muscles, and continued on as though he was oblivious to the contempt of the populace. Though on the outside he was all cheer and good fun, inside he was reeling. He hadn't done anything particularly vulgar in the last few months, so he had no idea as to what the people could possibly think he had done. All he knew was that he was very hurt for what he thought was unwarranted anger. This only added to the already depressed state of mind that usually accompanied him on this day.  
Finally exiting the more crowded parts of Konoha, he entered into a small clearing with various types of trees sprouting out of the ground. The leaves here, too, had changed colour, and he was ensconced in a world of oranges, browns, and reds. All too soon he arrived at the bridge, and made an effort to keep up appearances. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" he shouted merrily to the pink haired girl standing in the middle of the stone arch that stretched accross the small river. The girl was too engrossed in her ogling of the Uchiha, and didn't even hear the greeting.  
Said Uchiha was leaning casually against one of the rails that guarded either side of the bridge, and said nothing at all to either the girl staring at him nor the blonde who was steadily nearing them, all the while with a bored expression plastered on his face.  
Naruto faltered slightly at the lack of aknowledgement, but quickly recovered and began to prattle on about nothing in particular to Sakura, the pink haired one, whom most thought he was smitten. This in itself was untrue, but like the ramen, it gave him something to talk about, or to hunger after.  
Usually, Sakura would have at least looked at him before turning back to her Sasuke drool-fest, but this time he was disappointed. Deciding to take a different approach, he began to start in on the insulting Sasuke angle. "Oi, pretty boy, why don't you ever say anything? Or is it that you're just to dumb to form complete sentences?" he stated loudly, in the hope that either one that would see that he was there. His attempt did not go unrewarded. With a resounding SMACK, Sakura had bashed him over the head with her right fist, and instantly began berating him for insulting HER Sasuke-kun.  
While the strike had not been fun, he had gotten the attention he had been going for, and so he contented himself to droning on about Sasuke being an ass.  
"Oi, dobe, I wouldn't talk about people being dumb if I were you," The Uchiha stated stoicly. Though said with calm, if one were to look they could see both amusement and annoyance shoot accross the cold boy's face at the comment from Naruto.  
As was expected, the blonde immediately adopted a furious look, and glared at the onyx eyed boy.  
"Shut up, you bastard! What do you know?!" Naruto exclaimed, though he agreed with the Uchiha, He did indeed act like an idiot, but only because if he let himelf be normal, others would suspect that he was more powerful than they thought -which he was, those hours spent training hadn't all been for naught- and subsequently come to the conclusion that the fox was somehow behind it, and make an attempt to kill him.  
Sasuke, though only mildly irritated by the banter, decided that enough was enough. "Why don't you just shut up? No one wants to hear your voice, and we would be very pleased if you would just go away. Now, are you gonna clam up, or am I going to have to force you?" The last part was stated with a smidgeon of hope, as he had not been able to spar with his comrade in a fair while. Naruto was one of the few whom he considered to be worthy rivals, and he was eager to see how much the shorter boy had improved over the short break they had been awarded.  
However, instead of the mocking comeback, and the holier-than-thou attitude that would normally follow a challenge such as the one uttered, Naruto simply stood there with a hurt and lost expression on his face. Sakura, though she had not been paying attemtion to Naruto, turned slightly and caught the look on his face, and was instantly worried. Naruto was not the type to be sad, he was the energy and cheerfulness of the group, and seeing him like this felt wrong somehow.  
"Naruto...are you ok?" Sakura whispered, concern etched upon her features. Sasuke, who had closed his eyes and was looking down, all the while anticipating a sharp yell from his orange clad team mate, looked up quickly when Sakura had uttered the soft inquiry. What he saw - though he would never admit it- scared him. The look on Naruto's face was so similar to the one he himself had worn for the first couple of weeks after his parents had been slaughtered. He stifled a shudder at the expression, and though he didn't show it, he too was worried.  
Like magic, Sakura's words snapped Naruto out of his daze, and he put his hand behind his head, shooting an apologetic smile at Sakura.  
"Um..yeah, I'm fine, Sakura-chan! But thanks for worrying!" He smiled widely, but neither Sakura nor Sasuke were convinced that he was 'fine'. "Really, I'm ok! I am hungry though, I wish that Kakashi-sensei would get here soon so we can get the mission over with! I want some ramen!" the word 'ramen' seemed to set all of Sakura's fears at ease, and she began to chide Naruto for worrying her over nothing. Sasuke, though, was still staring at the boy he called rival, contemplating what he had just witnessed.  
Just as Sasuke was about to approach the blond, a fimiliar pop was heard, and the accompanying smoke gave away that their sensei had arrived.  
"Sensei, you're LATE!" two voices echoed throughout the area, sending a small flock of sparrows into the sky. The volume, however, seemd to have no effect whatsoever on the silver haired man standing in front of them. Instead, his one visible eye curved into a happy arch, and he began his explaination of why he was tardy.  
"Well, you see, I was walking along, when all of a sudden the dam broke. There was a little girl at the bottom, and I just had to rescue her!" the man explained with a grin. Well, it could be considered a grin, for it wan't very visible through the face mask that covered the lower half of his face.  
"LIAR!" came the sharp reply from the two, but as before the man was unaffected. Sasuke contributed to the accusation by glaring coldly at their sensei.  
"Um...anyway," the man, Kakashi, started uneasily, " Our mission today is to..." As Kakashi trailed off, two of his students could be seen leaning closer to hear what he had to say. Even Sasuke cocked an ear in interest.  
"Train!" Kakashi finished. Sakura and Naruto landed with a thump onto the stone bridge, and Sasuke merely sweatdropped. When Sakura and Naruto had picked themselves up off the ground and dusted themselves off to their content, they turned their focus back onto the man they called sensei. Sasuke gently pushed himself away from the rail, and stood behind his team mates, and waited for Kakashi to lead them to the pratctice grounds.  
The walk was not very far, and the trip went by quickly. Sakura spent the time staring at Sasuke as per norm, and Naruto was strangely quiet, only throwing in the occasional comment about some random topic. While it was unknown as to whether their teacher noticed this lack of exuberance on the part of Naruto, the glint in Sasuke's eyes showed that it had not gone unacknowledged by him.  
Once they had reached their destination, Kakashi turned at once, facing his students, and informed them that they would be sparring this day. Sakura let out an almost imperceptible groan, and Sasuke's eyes shone in anticipation; this was the perfect opportunity to test his rival. Naruto gave the customary speach about how he, the future Hokage of Konohagakure, would kick the ass of one Uchiha Sasuke.  
Although not showing any outward sign that he had been concerned, the silver haired sensei let his muscle relax a bit as his student seemed to be well, just a tad quiet. He instructed the two boys to spar with each other while he himself trained Sakura, and neither one objected to the arrangements. Each went to opposite sides of the field where they adopted a ready stance. Naruto instantly charged at his opponent, and launched one fist upward to distract the dark haired boy while he concentrated on pummeling his torso. The swing had the desired effect, and as Sasuke reached his arm to block, he left the majority of his chest open to attack, and attack Naruto did. A quick volley of punches followed shortly by a snap kick to the sternum sent Sasuke flying into a tree, where he connected hard, leaving a dent in the trunk.  
Rising quickly to his feet, he threw a few shuriken at Naruto, while he jumped up into the tree that he had crashed into. The shuriken were dodged easily by the recipient of the barrage, and Naruto backed up quickly so as to spot any incoming attack. However, because the thoughts of the morning were still running through his head, he failed to notice that Sasuke had created a shadow clone, and the real Sasuke was stealthily gliding through the surrounding trees.  
When Naruto discovered that the 'Sasuke' in the tree wasn't moving, he decided to take cover in the bushes at the opposite side of the field, and then launch a sneak attack on the unsuspecting Uchiha. While in theory this was a good idea, he was still unaware as to the swap, and didn't know that Sasuke was hiding in the very bushes he was planning on using.  
Sprinting away from the tree, the words of the morning once again were passed over. 'Why don't you just shut up? No one wants to hear your voice, and we would be very pleased if you would just go away. Now, are you gonna clam up, or am I going to have to force you?' So they'd like it if he went away, huh? Well, he wasn't exactly opposed to the idea either. The thought of leaving Konoha had been contemplated extensively, but he just couldn't bring himself to go. Even if he WAS hated here, it was still his home, and he couldn't abandon it for what he thought to be selfish reasons.  
So wrapped up in his thoughts was he, that the shout of "Fire technique: Fire Flower!" was not processed until the wave of heated air first reached his face. As he looked up into the glowing wall off fire, one thought passed through his mind: "Aw, shit."  
  
(A/N:) Disclaimer: I onw nothing of the name Naruto. I don't remember the real owner, as it is long, and has many letters. That is all. You can go frolic now. 


	2. The mansion

(A/N: I'm sorry for all the spelling errors in my last chapter. I'm hoping to make this a multi chapter fic, but who knows ; And just so you know, if I do continue, the birthday thing will not be the main topic. It will probably be refferenced, but won't be the focus. Uhm...sorry for the crappy chapters, but I'm kinda new at writing...well, read on if you will. PS: for a part in this fic, Sasuke has a mental...thing, where he can forget situations by blaming them on others. Uh...this is the only way I could get it to make sense ;)  
  
Previously: "Fire technique: Fire Flower!" was not processed until the wave of heated air first reached his face. As he looked up into the glowing wall off fire, one thought passed through his mind: "Aw, shit."  
  
Chapter 2  
  
When the molten wave hit him, a blood curdling scream ripped from his throat, causing both Sakura and Kakashi to cease sparring and notice the battle that was taking place next to them. Both watched in morbid fascination as the flame engulfed their team mate, not able to run to his aid. Sasuke was no better off, as he had been the one to fire the technique. He had thought that the blond would realise his danger, and dodge.  
As the wave finally stopped flowing, Naruto fell to his knees. His jacket, what was left of it, was torn and burned, and no longer the garish shade of orange. Rather it was ash, as were his pants; his shirt hadn't fared much better, as it too was burnt, though still in one piece. Across his arms and face were patches of charred skin, and his eyebrows had been singed off. Giving one last small grunt from his abused vocal cords, he collapsed onto the ground.  
The three, broken from their trance by the blond falling, immediately rushed to his side. Kakashi quickly checked over the blond to see if there had been any lethal damage done to his student. Assured that he would survive long enough to reach the hospital, the silver haired man gently picked up the fallen boy, and ran as quickly as he could to the nearest medical facilities.  
Sasuke, however, stayed behind. He stood in the middle of the small patch of earth that had been burned, and simply stared at the ground. His sharp eyes noticed bits of cloth, as well as splotches of blood that hadn't been immediately dried upon contact with the fire.  
He slowly stretched out a trembling hand towards the depression where his rival had collapsed, and snatched his appendage back as though burned himself. The ground he was still fairly warm, as he noticed when he kneeled. There were cracks spreading like spiderweb in the center of the circle, caused no doubt by the rapid evaporation. Sasuke couldn't believe what had just happened. Sparring was meant not to gravely injure or kill, but to test skills. Things like this weren't meant to happen. Especially not Naruto, was the thought passing through the Uchiha's mind. He rose to his feet, and unsteadily wavered in the general direction he knew his house to be.  
The once lively dance of the leaves now seemed dull and subdued, as though they too were grieving. A solitary gull drifted languidly through the air, and Sasuke glared at it, as though admonishing it for being so cheery after an occurance such as the one he had just been witness to. Turning his gaze back to the dirt path in front of him, he once again let his thoughts wander.  
He had seen the way that Naruto acted on the bridge, but had put it up to the blond falling back into old sleeping patterns. 'I should have told Kakashi-sensei that I didn't think he was up to it!' he mentally berated himself. 'heh...no, Naruto would just huff up, and tell me he thought I was scared. Ack... I can't believe I had been so careless! No, it was Naruto! He should have been paying closer attention! What kind of ninja will he be if he can't even take accurate observations of his surroundings?' feeling quite content now that he had placed blame on someone other than himself, Sasuke continued his trek.  
The trees had gradually been growing thicker and closer together, which signified that indeed he was close to his home. The once dirt path had turned into cobble stone, and he stepped lightly from one grey stone to the next. He had often hopped across the rocks as a child, and had never really grown out of the habit. Looking up, he saw the Uchiha mansion in all its splendour.  
The entire thing was built of pine, and age had weathered it into a deep brown colour. Its design was of the ancient oriental shrines, and had one come across it in the woods for the first time, they would stand in awe. It was a two story structure with many side buildings attatched by way of seperate hallways and arches. The basement was one floor, and was as wide as the first floor. Unlike other houses built at the time, it had more than just a spot in the dirt to store food.  
Coming up to the small door after ascending the steps onto the porch, he turned the brass handle and entered the mansion. Once inside, he immediately proceeded through the empty hallways, remeniscient of Naruto's, and turned to the rice paper door seperating the kitchen from the rest of the home. Entering, he glanced around with mild annoyance at the normally spotless floor. There were small piles of dust littering the white tile floor, picked up by his person when he had knelt on the burnt ground. He decided to forgo sweeping until the next day, as his training had left him exhausted. Openeing his double door fridge, he extracted two onigiri and a can of iced tea; he was in no mood to cook anything even halfway decent.  
Meandering into the section containing bed rooms, he opened the one he had designated as 'His', as he had grown tired of moving his posessions around from room to room. Stepping across the hard wood floor, he approached the queen sized bed, and placed the iced tea on the bureau standing next to it. The glowing digits of the clock informed him that it was only noon, but he assured himself that he would wake in a few hours and train to make up for lost time. Finishing off his onigiri, he wiped the crumbs off of the purple sheets, and guzzled the rest of his iced tea. Once this was completed, he laid back against the down pillows, and closed his eyes.  
'Just a few hours,' he told himself. However, the chakra depletion he experienced from sparring forced him into deep sleep, and he dreamt away the afternoon, evening, and wee morning hours.  
  
While the Uchiha had been grumbling and dragging himself to his house, a certain silver haired jounin and pink haired genin were rushing their blond comrade to the hospital. Said blond had begun to writhe in his teachers arms, as he became slightly cognizant of his surroundings, as well as the pain ripping through his body.  
Had he the strength he would have cried out, but as it was, his entire body went rigid from schock. Eventually, the agony died down to a pulsating lance of heat that seemed to have no origin point, but rather came over him in waves. Once he calmed enough to think something other than 'Let it stop, God, please let it stop!' which he had been playing over and over in his head like a mantra, he slowly settled himself into a more relaxed position. Unfortunately for him, his sensei had hit a particularly unsteady roof tile, of which they were bounding over, and his burnt flesh rubbed against the rough material of the vest that the jounin wore. Biting his tongue to stifle a yelp, he concentrated on turning his head so as to see for himelf the damages that had been inflicted.  
He had barely managed to turn his head, however, when the voice of his teacher broke through the urgent silence.  
"Naruto, don't move around too much. I checked you over for critical wounds, but there's no telling how badly you've been injured. I'm not a medic nin," came the somber command, and Naruto obediently laid his head back against the arm of the silver haired man.  
Eventually, the rhythmic up and down motions of running atop buildings lulled him into a stupor from which any pain he encountered from friction was dulled to a pin prick. Just as he was about to lose conciousness for the second time that day, an abrupt halt in their forward movement brought him to wakefulness. Peering over his sensei's elbow, he caught sight of a massive building painted almost completely white. There was one area in the middle of the structure, which he estimated to be about ten stories high, that was painted in the design of a red cross.  
The few people who walked by the hospital, which had a distance of ten meters on either side seperating it from the other buildings and offices in the area, shot curious looks towards the trio. However, injuries and the like were not uncommon in the village.  
Kakashi strode purposefully towards the large glass doors which reflected the late afternoon light. Sakura, still lost in her own little world, mindlessly opened the door for her teacher and injured comrade, and trailed behind them when they proceeded towards the front desk.  
The jounin was at once set upon the smell of ozone and antiseptic, and he was thankful for his mask, which filtered out the strong odour. Various other people, ninja and citizen alike, were sitting in the customary padded chairs supplied for those waiting to see a medic. Small children huddled to their mothers, while holding kleenex to their noses, and a few were sitting with various limbs propped up, so as to ease discomfort. Kakashi took all of this in at a glance, and stood expectantly at the front desk.  
A petit brunette, who was currently on duty, was busy filing some papers, and didn't notice the three in front. Kakashi cleared his throat to gain her attention, and the lady whipped her head around to stare at him. She smiled warmly at him, and asked in a sweet voice,  
"Yes? How may I help you?"  
He explained to her that one of his students had been injured in training, and needed immediate medical attention. The woman had begun to nod, when she caught sight of whom exactly it was who needed aid. Her once smiling face was not a vicious snarl.  
"No! Get that...that thing out of here! It should not be treated!" the woman shrieked, utter contempt lacing her scornful words. "Take it out! Out I say!" she added when Kakashi made no move to leave.  
Kakashi said nothing, but glared at her icily.  
"You took an oath to help every injured person, no matter whom they may be. Now, either you help my student, or the Hokage WILL be contacted about this," he stated in a deathly calm voice.  
The woman looked absolutely enraged, and others in the waiting room did not seem too pleased either.  
"Yes, person! THAT is no person!" as she spoke those words, she advacned on the trembling figure in the jounin's arms. The bundle of ash gently pushed away from his sensei's arms, and painfully rested his feet on the floor. An expression of agony flashed across his face, but turned into a sad frown.  
"I...I'm sorry you feel that way...I don't know...what I did personally...but I'm...sorry..." he whispered, desperate for a glass of water to soothe his aching throat. Instead of being pacified by these words, the brunette was further angered, and charged at the swaying boy.  
Though Kakashi was a jounin, even he ws not fast enough to stop the blow that the woman placed upon Naruto. Thankfully, she was a civillian, and had not the proper aim. The pen merely struck his shoulder, and did not pierce too far. The pain of the wound, however, was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. This act of sadness and anger, when piled on top of the previous day's actions and pain from the burns, served to overload the boy's mind, and he blacked out.  
  
(PSS: A/N: Ok...this was a weird chapter...sorry if nothing too good happened, but I had to get the whole mansion description thingy in there, 'cause I don't want to have to explain it over and over. After I'm done with them, I think I'm gonna try to further the plot, eh heh heh heh. Again, Sasuke isn't being blase about the incident, but he's kinda...messed up in the head because of what Itachi did to him. So again, he has the whole "forgetting" thing, like selective amnesia. Anywho! If someone asks, I will start creating word lists for those who don't understand the few japanese words or endings I use. Sorry if this chappie sucked! I've only got a vague idea myself as to what's going to happen, so uh...I'm almost as in the dark as the rest of you ; Hm...I wonder if I should stop torturing Naruto so much...Nah!) 


	3. Intentions and Memories

(A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers, and I've finally updated! I now have in mind somewhere that I want to go with this story, and I apologize for the rather cruddy chapters.  
For Naruto, things will probably get worse before they get better, so I'll get it out with now: "Sorry! I don't mean to be cruel to Naruto, but these things have to happen." Oh yeah, and they have tupperware [which doesn't belong to me] in this universe....so there)  
  
Last time: The pen merely struck his shoulder, and did not pierce too far. The pain of the wound, however, was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. This act of sadness and anger, when piled on top of the previous day's actions and pain from the burns, served to overload the boy's mind, and he blacked out.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The first thing he became aware of was the heavy scent of what he thought was ozone and antiseptic on the air. Taking a good whiff confirmed his suspicions, but something was nagging at his mind. The last he remembered was standing around waiting for Kakashi, and then a large blank. He could tell that something very important had occured, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what.  
Cracking one eye open, he caught a glimpse of white bed sheets, before the morning light streaming through the window caused him to shut it again. Instead of risking further damage to his retinas, he felt his way along his surroundings. His small, tanned hands encountered a squishy material which he deduced to be the mattress he was resting on, but it was the metal bars surrounding the bed that had him confused.  
Deciding that he would brave the glare, he opened both of his eyes, and was forced to squint. He was indeed resting on a bed with guard rails, and the constant dripping sound that was picked up by his sharp ears was confirmed to come from a small IV set up beside him.  
It is not to say that Naruto is dumb, but what with the strain on his mind the day before, it was working a little slow. Finally it all clicked, and he figured that he was in a hospital. Surveying the room, a flash of pink and red caught his wandering gaze. Focusing on the colours, he saw a snoozing Sakura propped up against the opposite wall, a small trail of drool dribbling down her chin. His blue eyes softened at this sight. He reluctantly tore his eyes away from the slumbering girl, and glanced around at the rest of his small room. Nothing else was very noticable within the enclosure; there was a small painting of a flower on the wall, light green curtains which were failing at their job of blocking light, and one chair set beside a small drawer next to the bed.  
Suddenly feeling very sleepy, Naruto allowed his eyelids to shut, and began the journey into dreamland. Just as the blond lost conciousness, a familiar silver haired jounin strolled into the room, being trailed by a harried looking nurse. Kakashi had searched the entire compound looking for a nurse to tend to his student, as the one that had taken care of the fox vessel earlier had gone home for the night. Moving so as to allow the red headed nurse room to go about her duties, the elite ninja leaned against the wall his female subordinate had chosen as a resting place. While he waited, a familiar orange book made its way into his hands, and he indulged himself in various tales not suited to those under the age of eighteen.  
"Well he may be a little tender when he leaves, but other than that he should be fine," stated the nurse in a high voice while she checked off some information on her clip board. "He should avoid doing anything too strenuous with that one arm though. The pen may not have gone deep, but it hit a very sensitive nerve that should be allowed time to heal properly. Here, please give him this salve when he wakes up. It will help heal the burns much faster, and will dull any pain he might feel." with that, she handed him a medium sized jar of cream, and strode out of the room.  
Sitting on the lone grey chair, Kakashi once again took out his favourite reading material, and proceeded to read.  
  
The soft twittering of birds awoke Sasuke and he lazily sat up, pushing the purple sheets away from his legs. His not quite awake mind didn't register that it was dawn rather than dusk, so he meandered towards the larger dojo so as to train as he had promised himself before he went to sleep. He entered and quickly sunk into a fighting stance.  
The light filtering in through the various small windows placed at shoulder height made the wooden floor gleam, causing it to look as gold. There were various weapons set up in racks on the walls, from kunai to katanas, and from shuriken to spears. While he had not been old enough to be taught the Uchiha fighting tecniques, he had made it a personal goal to master the art of each weapon stored in the household. So far, he had the kunai and shuriken down pat, but he was still working on almost everything else.  
As he formed some basic katas, the large clock hung on the wooden post above the rice paper door caught his eye. When he first glanced at it, the numbers didn't quite translate in his mind. However, when he looked again, he noticed that it was indeed 8:45, but that didn't quite coincide with the lighting. Realising that he had slept through the night, he went off like a shot.  
Deciding that his clothes were clean enough for training, he bypassed his room altogether and headed straight for the kitchen. Once inside, he grabbed a small bowl of miso soup, and poured it into a tupperware container so he could eat it when he arrived at the bridge.  
The stones were slick because of the morning dew, so he had to skip hopping on them. The trees on either side of the path served to block some of the light, though not much due to the loss of foliage. Sasuke almost slipped a few times throughout his journey, but managed to right himself before he tumbled down to the ground. When he made his way, tripping and stumbling, to the meeting place, he was greeted with and abandoned post. No one was there, not Sakura, waving and flirting with him; not Naruto, screaming and whining about Kakashi-sensei not being there...though that was happening less and less.  
Though this blatant display of missing teammates was placed in front of him, nothing in his mind triggered the memory of the battle that had taken place. Pulling out his conatiner of miso soup, he sipped at it contentedly, waiting for the rest of his team. When no one came after thirty minues, Sasuke became quite irritated. Thinking that his comrades had gone to training without him, though this was highly unlikely as Kakashi wasn't due for another hour, Sasuke decided to walk about Konoha and ask around to find out if anyone had seen his teammates. Strolling along the dirt path leading to the main square, Sasuke remained oblivious to his injured teammate's plight.  
  
Someone gently shaking her shoulder was what caused Sakura to wake up, and she lightly swatted the offending appendage away while climbing to her feet. A curious stiff sensation went through her jaw, and when she raised her hand to discover what was causing it, she encountered the remnants of her dried drool. Wiping it away in disgust, she turned to the one whom had awoken her.  
"We should get Naruto up now, ne?" the man asked her. Recognizing him as her teacher, Sakura nodded and walked over to the side of the bed Naruto was sleeping on.  
"Naruto...Naruto, wake up...." realising this was not working, Sakura raised her voice a few notches. "Naruto...! WAKE UP YOU BONE HEAD!" was the phrase that was heard by everyone in the building. Naruto, who had not been excluded from the blast, jerked up, and fell out of bed. Not moving from his awkward position, Naruto's muffled inquiry floated to Sakura's ears.  
"What was that for Sakura-chan? It's not very nice to call people names, you know," he mumbled. With this admonishment, Naruto slowly picked himself up off the floor, and slouched onto the bed. Looking down at himself, the blond realised that he was wearing nothing but the traditional hospital gown, and blushed profusely. "Uhm...has anyone seen my clo-" the question was cut off abruptly by the pants, shirt, and boxers thrown at his face by Kakashi. Naruto mumbled his thanks, and pulled on the black boxers, as well as the orange leggings and blue shirt. Kakashi had taken the liberty to stop by Naruto's house and gather up some fresh clothes for his young student.  
The small boy hopped off of the bed and winced slightly at the feeling of rough cloth on his sensitized skin, but shrugged it off. Stepping up to his sensei and 'crush', he plastered a grin on his face, and suggested they go back to training. The memory of what had happened still eluded him, but he was determined to not let it bother him. Sakura and Kakashi shared a look, but the silver haired man finally agreed, though he made Naruto promise to take it easy due to his wounds.  
The trio stopped by the front desk where a different nurse than the one who had attacked Naruto -she had been fired- sat, filing some reports and playing solitaire. Once they had acquired permission for the young ninja to leave the hospital, they walked slowly, due to the badly concealed pain radiating from the blue eyed boy, out of the large building.  
  
Though many on the street had a hard time moving from one store to the other, the Uchiha encountered no such problem. He was so well known that the people of Konoha gave him room, though not much, to travel through the city. Passing by various shops and boutiques, as well as drooling fangirls, a sprout of blond hair caught his attention. The silver haired man and pink head standing next to it was a dead give away that those were indeed the other members of team seven. Making his way through the crowd, he soon reached the less populated street where his teammates had wandered to.  
As he came up to the group, Sakura launched herself at him, and clung to his arm. His teacher gave him a slight incline of his head to show that he was aware of Sasuke's arrival, but the blond was still chattering away at the taller ninja, and hadn't noticed the dark haired boy's arrival.  
"Oi, dobe," Sasuke called out, "Where were you guys? There was no one at the bridge."  
  
Naruto, hearing the familiar voice of the third member of their team, turned around to see the scowling, though slightly curious face of the Uchiha. As soon as his eyes locked on to that face the memories of the battle, as well as that of the nurse who had stabbed him with the pen, came rushing back to him. Clutching his wounded shoulder, Naruto attempted to smile at the taller boy.  
"Oh, hey Sasuke...we, um, we were just looking around the market," he lied. he shot a warning look at Sakura and Kakashi that said 'Don't tell him anything'. He didn't want his rival knowing that he had been sent all the way to the hospital and been stabbed.  
Sasuke seemed to accept this excuse, but kept a skeptical eye on the blond. Turning his back on the others, he called out to them that he was heading back to the bridge so that they could officially receive the mission for the day. Kakashi disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke, and Sakura and Naruto walked side by side towards the bridge.  
Because the streets were less crowded, Naruto did not receive half as many glares as he usually would have, and was in a generally better mood because of it. They caught up with Sasuke about halfway to the meeting place, and continued the rest of the way in silence. Sakura and Sasuke both, though Sasuke was more covert, shot worried glances at their teammate. Naruto, as though sensing the stares, began to ramble on about nothing; from the weather to what he thought his sensei's book was about, and this settled their doubts.  
Their teacher greeted them at the bridge with the usual "yo", and they stood in a semi circle around the silver haired jounin.  
"Well," he began, "your mission for today....is nothing. You have no mission today. Go home, everyone! Oh yes, and before I forget, here Naruto. This is some salve for the burns, ok?" Everyone sweatdropped when he announced the lack of missions, but Sasuke shot a quzzical glance at Naruto when burns were mentioned. The mental block was still in place, so he had no idea what his rival had done to burn himself. Shrugging his shoulders, Sasuke walked down the now familiar path that led to his secluded mansion. Sakura quickly caught up with him, and began to chatter about different things with the occasional offer for a date between subjects.  
Naruto bid his sensei goodbye, and pocketed the jar of salve. However, he did not immediately go home. Beginning the trek up to the top of the Hokage monument, he had one thought in mind; He was going to have a serious chat with the kyuubi.  
  
(A/N: Well, it seems as though Sasuke's mental problem is still in effect, and I know that I didn't really put a lot of thoughts in on the part of Naruto. Don't worry! They will come. Patience, young grasshoppers. Anywho, I hope you liked this, and any spelling errors you find, please point them out to me! I might have missed some of them, and my beta reader is sick, so...yeah.) 


End file.
